Don’t Be A Follower On Digital Transformation, Speaker Warns

OXON HILL, Md. -- When it comes to maximizing the digital integration mindset, financial services companies are still doing too much following and not enough disrupting.

This is particularly true of the insurance segment of the financial services industry, said Christopher Young, director of industry strategy and marketing for financial services for Adobe’s Digital Experience Business.

“Insurance is the furthest behind within an overall financial services industry that is seen as laggard,” Young said. “These are companies that, all they think about is growth.”

Young is moderating a panel today on digital transformation at the 2017 LIMRA Annual Conference. He will be joined by executives from New York Life and MetLife.

Those companies have done well in their digital transformation efforts, Young said. Others are resistant to change. That attitude “is inherent in a risk-averse industry,” Young said.

An Adobe survey from earlier this year found that 46 percent of mainstream financial services executives said their organization’s strategy is that of “fast follower.” In other words, they watch what competitors are doing and match demand once a concept proves its worth.

That isn’t the way to do it, said Young, who previously worked in communications and marketing for J.P. Morgan and E*Trade.

“A lot of companies miss the point,” he explained. “It isn’t about technology and digital in and of itself. It’s about culture. It’s about organization and processes for collaboration.

“That’s what gets missed because you think a very large organization, the way we operate and are structured today, can simply copy what a more agile and disruptive company is doing. It’s not going to happen.”

'It's Not Either-Or'

Among younger generations, surveys show they learn 70 percent of what they know about insurance and a company before they ever meet an agent, Young said. Having a brand presence online is crucial to catch that business.

“It’s not an either/or proposition,” Young said. “To think of digital as going directly to the consumer, I think would be missing the point. It’s the connectivity of digital that bridges the gap between interaction with a broker or advisor and how that experience becomes unified.”

The obvious difficulty big insurers have is with that risk-averse mindset. Compliance departments by nature shy away from anything adventurous, Young said.

In addition, many insurers are large companies with many different structures under the corporate umbrella. It can be hard to get everyone moving in the same direction, he added.

“It’s one thing if the CEO at the table says something and then, as it trickles down through the organization, that’s where it gets muddled,” Young said.

In four-plus years working with companies for Adobe, Young has noticed improving digital commitment among financial services firms. But there is plenty of work to be done, he said.

“Why not you?” he asked. “Instead of being a fast follower, which companies like Google and Amazon never said, why not be the company that embraces these types of experiences and takes control of its own destiny?"

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.

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